Production of wire clips and the like



Mm. W, WW. A. H. WINCH V Q PRODUCTION OF WIRE CLIPS THE LIKE Filed Feb. '27, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet l In uentor flrthurliflinclo,

Nov. 19, 1940. A. H. BINCH 2,222,220

PRODUCTION QF WIRE CLIPS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 27, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 v A ltorney Nov. 19, 1940. A. H. BINCH PRODUCTION OF WIRE CLIPS AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet- 4 Filed Feb. 27, 1939 Inventor flrtharlifiinch,

Atto may t atcn o l it t arcane connection ca u s i drthur lillc hinch, wdhant England, acslgnor to William odes tcdl M l una d d Application ll ehruarw it'l ran, denial lilo. t5htdd in direct dritain l darch d, lddd ml. Milt-3) lit hilt

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This invention comprises improvements in or relating to the production of wire clips and the hire.

More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention reiers' to the production or wire clips such as are employed for connecting together adjacent poclreted coil or upholstery springs emhodied in spring mattresses, cushions or like spring, assemblies. Usually clips employed for this purpose are cut from a length oi wire, the

cut lengths heing tent to U-iormation and when so formed caused to straddle adjacent parts of coil springs to be connected together, the two legs or the U being subsequently pressed together so as to cause the clip to encircle or embrace the spring coils.

l-leretotore it has been customary to cut the wire at right angles to the length thereof, the two ends oi the clip being thereby square and hlunt; consequently in connecting together pocketed coil springs the fabric of the poclrets appertaining to adjacent springs is usually pressed by the blunt ends of the clip beneath the wire coils to he connected without being actually pierced, and the emciency oi the connection depends in the main upon the strength or stifiness of the wire employed,

no important object of this invention is to produce clips which very easily pierce the poclret iahric during the operation or connecting pocketed springs, and which provide a more positive connection tor said sprints.

line present invention, according to one aspectthereoi", provides a machine for matting hent wire clips or the like, particularly a machine for melting clips tor connecting together coiled upholstery springs, comprising means functioning to head into substantially ti shape a portion of wire oil the re uisite lennth to rorin a clip, and means whereby the ends oi the u-shaped portion are pressed together one over the other.

the machine also einhodies means for producing pointed, tapered or sharpened ends to each length ct wire to lorni the clip, said ends lacing caused to cross one another in the finished clip particularly the machine in accordance the present invention comprises in com-- hinatlon means for ieeding the end portion of length or" who their to a cuttinn position, means tor cutting; trout saidstoclr the requisite ienrrth oi wire to iorn'l a clip, said cutting means tunctioning to cut the wire ohli uely or diagonally to aids or length or said wire so as to i'orin a sharpened, hevelled or tapered end to the ter the lower ends or the handling laws.

cred length, means ior bending the severed wire portion into substantially U-shape and means iunctioning to press the bevelled or tapered ends of the U- hape portion one over the other.

By the present invention an improved con-i struction of wire clip is provided, applicable for use as a connecting element between adjacent poclreted springs of a spring mattress, cushion or the lilre, the improved clip consisting of a portion of wire shaped to a completed loop or ring formation and having its two ends tapered, bevelled or pointed, or similarly formed to provide sharp cutting or piercing extremities, which extremities cross or intersect one another in close err-- gagement.

In order that the invention may-be better un derstood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a. front elevation of a machine according to this invention for producing wire clips.

Flame 2 is a front sectional elevation oi. the lower part of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figures 3, t and 5 are enlarged sectional detail views showing three successive steps in the production oil a clip; Figure 5 showing the com pieted clip embracing and connecting end coils oi adjacent pocketed springs. 1

' Figure 6 is an inverted section on t, t of Figure 3,

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Figures l and 8 are enlarged details in perspective of the wire cutting and bending elements.

Figure ii is a part sectional View of a portion of a poclreted spring assembly showing the end spring coils connected by clips.

id lnures id, ll and it are three views ofa clipv tld jaws til, it depend irom a vertically movalole cross head it, there heing a horiaontally mov ahle saddle ineinher it adapted to he moved into and out oil a position in which same lies between The cross head it carrying the two handing laws is fixed upon a pair oi vertical rods it slidably mounted within posses or bearinss it constituting parts of the main irarne it, said cross head and rods lacing moved downwards against the resistance oi? coiled compression spring ll hy suitable mech anism such as a rotary cam or eccentric it coactlns roller it on the cross head it. The one jaw it or the two pending laws functions also did as a wire cutter and is rigidly secured to the cross head, while the second jaw 10 is pivotally mounted so as to permit of lateral displacement. The two jaws extend down between a pair of guides 20, 2i which are adjustably connected by screw and slot connection 22 to a relatively stationary part of the machine frame; there being a headed pin or bolt 23 located between the jaws functioning to maintain same suitably spaced apart and assist in the proper guidance of the jaws in their vertical movement.

Wire 24 is fed forward from a suitable supply through a horizontal channel in a guide 25 so that the end portion of the wire is located across the saddle member IS with the forward end of the wire below the pivoted jaw l0; and with the wire so disposed the two jaws are lowered in unison towards the saddle member so as first to cut off a length of wire to form a clip and then force the two ends of the severed length over or around the .saddle member into substantially U- shape. The saddle is then withdrawn, and during the continued descent of the two jaws a bevelled face Illa of the pivoted jaw l0 coacts with a curved or bevelled member 26 and in so doing said jaw I0 is pressed towards the fixed jaw il so that the top bar or transverse portion of the U is bent between the jaws and the two ends of the severed wire portion are pressed together to form a clip of substantially ring, loop or diamond shape. The inner face of the pivoted jaw ll! is recessed at lflb to accommodate the pin 23 during this closing movement of the jaws, and the degree of closing is adjustable by slidably mounting the aforesaid member 25 and providing an adjusting screw2l coacting with said member.

The part constituting the cutter advantageously comprises a short steel bar 28 screwed or otherwise renewably fixed in a recess at the lower end of the jaw II; the cutter actually comprising the lower part of said jaw I I. If desired, however, the cutter may be constituted by an integral portion of the jaw. The movable jaw l0 and also the cutter 28 are grooved or recessed at their under faces, said grooves or recesses constituting, at the commencement of the cutting operation, a continuation of the feeding aperture or channel in the fixed member 25. The wire cutter 28 is formed with a diagonal or oblique cutting edge, that is to say a cutting edge which extends diagonally to the axis or length of the wire being severed, the cutter moving relatively to the fixed member 25 which isalso provided with a part shaped or designed to conform to the diagonal cutting.

As best shown in Figs. 3 to 6, the diagonal cutting orknife edge on the movable cutter 28 is advantageously provided by recessing said cutter at its outer vertical face at 28, at least one side face of said recess 23 being bevelled and being so disposed as to extend diagonally or obliquely cross the wire-guiding groove at the bottom face of the cutter so as to provide a sharp diagonal cutting edge 30. The fixed wire-guiding member 25 with which the cutter slidably co-operates is formed on its vertical face with a projecting key or rib 3| adapted to have a close sliding fit within the vertical recess or groove 29 in the cutter 2.8. This projecting rib 3| has at least one side bevelled face 32 which extends diagonally across the wire feeding channel or aperture in the member 25 (see Figs. 6 and 7) and co-operates with the aforesaid diagonal cutting edge 30 during the cutting operation.

Advantageously the side recess 29 in the cutter 28 and the projecting rib 3| on the fixed wireguiding part 25 are of substantially U or V shape in plan.

The key or rib 3i and the recess or groove 23 permit the two parts of the cutter to move relative to one another, as is required in cutting, but prevent their relative separation during the cutting act, a tendency toward which is induced by the fact that the faces 30 and 32 are diagonal.

It will be appreciated that as the cutter member 23 descends, the diagonal cutting edge 30 co-operates with the corresponding diagonal face 32 of the projection ill to sever the length of wire and provide a sharp bevelled or tapering extremity to said wire see Fig. 6. After the length of wire has been severed, the cutter 28 (which as aforesaid constitutes a part of one of the pair of gripping jaws) continues to move downwards in unison with the pivoted jaw l0 and in so doing the severed length of wire is bent into inverted U-shape over the saddle l3. The bending or shaping of the wire is facilitated by providing a vertical groove 33 at the inner opposed faces of the two jaws. The saddle I3 is then withdrawn,

and the two jaws continue their downward movement and carry between same the inverted U member over the adjacent ends of two pocketed springs 34 to be connected, it being understood that the springs have been brought into the requisite position beneath the jaws for this purpose. After the two legs of the inverted U member have been carried down on opposite sides of the two end coils of the springs 34 to be connected, the pivoted jaw I0 is pressed laterally towards the fixed jaw by virtue of the engagement of the bevelled face ifla of said jaw ID with a curved or bevelled face of a relatively fixed member 26.

This closing movement of the jaws bends or buckles the upper or transverse portion of the U. member 35 (see Fig. 5) and in. so doing presses the two legs 36 towards each other on the under side of the two wire coils 31 of the springs 34 to be connected. During this operation the sharpened, bevelled or diagonally cut ends of the U member 35 easily pierce the fabric of the pockets 33, and said ends by virtue of their tapered or 'bevelledformation readily slide one over the other when pressed together so that the ends of the two legs 36 of the completed clip cross or intersect each other and form a completely closed loop.

It is to be understood that the degree to which the two legs 35 of the clip cross one over the other can be readily adjusted by adjusting the distance to which the movable jaw is displaced laterally in relation to the fixed jaw; this being accomplished by adjustment of the member 25 by means of the screw 21, and by fixing said member 25 in the adjusted position by a headed screw 26a coacting with an elongated slot.

Any suitable means may be provided for intermittently feeding forward the requisite length of wire to be out. In the arrangement illustrated the wire is fed towards the jaws through the intermediary of a friction device adapted to grip the wire, move forward the required length to be severed and then to release the wire and move back to its initial position. The gripping device may comprise a block or the like 39 slidable in guides 40 (Fig. 1) to and from the jaws III, II; the wire lying within a groove in the block. Located immediately above the wire-carrying groove in the block 39 is a. short pivoted lever ll,

7 the lower end of said lever having a cam face said jaws on said U wire, so as to cross the two ersing the movable cutterto sever the wire and provide same with a tapered or bevelled end,

means for operating the bending jaws to bend the severed wire to approximately U shape over the saddle member, means for withdrawing the saddle member, and means for partially closing ends of said wire one over the other.

6. A machine for making bent wire clips and the like, such as clips for connecting together coiled upholstery springs, comprising a frame, a saddle member movable in said frame to and from an operative position, a reciprocatory cross head mounted on said frame, a stationary cutter member carried by the frame, having a wire feeding channel therethrough and an inclined surface providing a cutting edge disposed diagonally of the axis of said channel, means for feeding wire through said channel to a cutting position across the saddle member, a pair of wire bending jaws for bending a severed length of wire over the saddle member, one of said jaws being fixedly secured to the cross head, and the other jaw being pivotally secured to the cross head for movement toward and from the first jaw and provided with an inclined face, a wire cutting element associated with one of said jaws and having a diagonal cutting edge disposed complementarily to the cutting edge of said stationary cutting member, means for moving the cross head and jaws towardthe saddle member to cause said cutting edges to sever a length of wire diagonally of its. axis. and to cause said jaws to bend such length of wire to substantially U-shape over the saddle member, means for retracting the saddle member to an inoperative position, a slidably adjustable abutment for engagement with the inclined face of the pivoted jaw upon movement thereof subsequent to the saddle retractionwhereby said jaws may close the legs of the U-shaped wire together With. their ends overlapping, and a screw device for adjusting the abutment to control the extent of such overlap.

'7 A machine for severing lengths of wire from a stock thereof and for bending the severed lengths into wire clips, comprising an anvil,

means for moving said anvil to and from an operative position, two bending jaws movable towards the anvil when the latter is in its operative position, to overlap it one on each side and thereby to bend a severed length of wire into U- form about said anvil, one of said jaws being pivoted for movement toward the other after the withdrawal of the anvil to inoperative position to close the clip, the other jaw being capable only of movement towards and away from the anvil position, a wirecutter comprising one cutter element on the second jaw and a stationary cutter element co-operating therewith and having a wire feed channel, said elements having cutting edges for severing a length from the end of the stock on a diagonal severance line, which edges are located diagonally to the wire and to said feed channel, a key and groove connection between the elements, which key and groove extend in the direction of the relative movement between the two elements in cutting, for restraining relative lateral movement of said elements in the cutting act, and means for moving the pivoted jaw towards the other jaw, after the retraction of the anvil, to an extent resulting in the ends of the U-shaped wire positioned between the jaws being caused to cross or overlap.

ARTHUR HENRY BINCH. 

